Look into making your app a Progressive Web Application (PWA). PWAs run in/on both desktop and mobile Chrome based browsers which dominate the web. And depending on use case (e.g. single-user apps or games) PWAs can be setup to run completely offline further emulating "native" mobile apps.
Just 2 of several PWA benefits:
- You can publish and host PWAs almost anywhere. No playstore required. But the option to go the playstore route remains open to you as playstores do accept PWAs.
- Done right a single code base, because it runs in the browser, just works on desktops and mobiles, while you still have the ability to modify app behavior based on the platform you can detect at run time.
Surge pricing might work OK for a high-end restaurant where there is little to no nearby competition. Though I prefer the "reservations suggested" model where the customers' experiences and the restaurant's resources are more effectively managed.
As for fast food joints, where a competitor might literally be located one parking lot away, if I'm that competitor the first thing I will do is put up a banner on the brick-mortar site, and on the our website, that proudly states:
We NEVER do surge pricing!
Any bets on where (which driveway or website) the price conscious fast foodies turn to to place their orders?
As for platform integration Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are browser based apps with an underlying reusable javascript framework. PWAs can get pretty close to "native" Android, IOS, and desktop apps that can be used in a web browser and/or installed and if appropriate run completely offline.
I've had good results with a PWA that - with the same code and content - runs on the MS Edge browser (desktop) and on Android Chrome and Samsung web browsers(mobile). Haven't tried on IOS.
No play stores involved, though, if you want, play stores do accept PWAs.
PWAs may not be the answer to everything but I believe they're a start.
Very cool, beautiful. I did a kids toy kind of thing like this using Unity for Android taking input from the handheld's accelerometer to make a sphere (ball) roll around (according to how the handheld device is tilted) and bump into targets.
As regards to "the water should eventually stand still" I found the accelerometer input to be sooo sensitive that even when you placed the handheld on a level surface (sussed out with a carpenter level) the sphere would slow down a lot but never stop moving.
A glass of water placed on a table eventually stops moving - according to our senses. But does it really?
I'm 64 years young and I started learning and developing games for mobile (mostly) 3 years ago. Started with Java on Android SDK, then after a few months switched over to Unity and C#. My initial focus was (no surprise) the arcade genre. I have since branched out to puzzle/adventure/interactive comic for a project I now have underway.
Along this journey I've learned enough to be nominally functional at animation, physics, game engines, 3D, handheld embedded sensors, object oriented programming (which often has me going OOPs and thinking I could have done/designed this better), Git, and more. No this is not a resume and I am not looking for any job. This post is more about saying what is possible.
At any age the art, mechanics and programming of (even my humble) game making is usually/mostly difficult. But for me the reward and thrill I get out of making something work and seeing my ideas actually "play" on a handheld is, well, awesome, and for me always more than worth my efforts.
FWIW and at the risk of being roasted and criticized to shreds, or just ignored, here is my website I put up a few weeks ago: https://bokoto.github.io/bob-site mainly to share my work with friends without swamping their email with attachments. The site includes screen shots and videos of a few of my projects along with links to Github where my projects - and messy code - can be found. I'm a solo creator/developer so everything you see there is my own fault.
At the end of the day I have no illusions about becoming a great game software architect or a AAA grade game engineer/designer, or making money from my efforts.
I'll consider myself successful when I have shared some games that enable players to perhaps improve/exercise their memory or eye-hand coordination while having fun, or getting a laugh or two or maybe even some joy out of something I created and shared with others.
Is there a business opportunity here for an independent, transparent 3rd party, (side-loaded or not app)safety inspection/testing service? Right now customers rely on the word of outfits. mostly Google and Apple who make money on your use, that the software they will "allow" you to install is "safe." Yet a lot of malicious crap gets through and sometimes remains available until enough victims post reviews.
A legitimate, transparent and disinterested 3rd party vetting service would not have a stake in whether or not a customer would download or sideload apps - from anywhere.
Just 2 of several PWA benefits: - You can publish and host PWAs almost anywhere. No playstore required. But the option to go the playstore route remains open to you as playstores do accept PWAs. - Done right a single code base, because it runs in the browser, just works on desktops and mobiles, while you still have the ability to modify app behavior based on the platform you can detect at run time.